This invention relates to the art of apparatus and methods in performing operations such as cutting sheet material like cloth, and more particularly to a new and improved pin table and associated method for supporting and matching patterned sheet material during such operations.
One area of use of the present invention is supporting and matching patterned sheet material in a stack for cutting a pattern from the stack, although the principles of the present invention can be variously applied. The matching of plaids, strips and checked fabrics has been an expensive and difficult manual process for apparel manufacturers with stringent quality matching requirements. Problems can occur because the panels making up a garment must be correctly matched, and the pattern of each panel must be in the correct position in order for the whole garment to match perfectly. Furthermore, distortion in the fabric sometime causes the size of the check or pattern to differ and stripes are not always straight. One proposed solution to the foregoing is known in the art as a pin table.
It would, therefore, be highly desirable to provide an improved method and apparatus for supporting and matching patterned sheet material during operations performed thereon, in particular for supporting and matching patterned cloth in a stack for cutting a pattern therefrom, resulting in labor and material savings and improved quality. It would be advantageous to provide the foregoing with the capability of holding the matched sheet material in a stack while being cut, as well as the capability of moving the stacked sheet material along the supporting surface. It would be desirable to provide the foregoing in a new and improved pin table, and wherein such pin table optimizes matching of the grid pattern of the pins to plaid pattern fabrics of any size plaid.